Share this

Gavin Santos ran for 157 yards and a touchdown and Femi Odalapo had a key 91-yard interception return for a touchdown late in the third quarter as Hesperia toppled Serrano 24-17 Friday at Hesperia. Alex Spainhower threw for 199 yards and a touchdown for the Diamondbacks.

Also, via text message from Clay Fowler, Miller took down No. 1 Redlands East Valley 18-15, sewing up their place as the No. 1 team in the Sun next week.

Share this

Came back to earth last week, missing four games outright and six games against the spread. Let’s see if we can’t do better this week.

Washington (+46.5) at USC
The crazy thing about this spread is that it keeps growing despite its enormity. USC did cover a 40-plus point spread a couple weeks ago against Washington State and Washington is bad. However, I see the Trojans falling just short of covering this one, as I think they treate it more like a preseason game than anything else.
USC 42, Washington 3

Oregon (+2.5) at California
These two teams are battling to see who is the best Pac-10 team not named USC. Well, I guess Oregon State should be in that debate too. The Ducks, due to using 14 quarterbacks this season, are basically a run-based team at this point. They are good at what they do, but not quite good enough to beat a Cal team that seems to play well at home.
California 31, Oregon 24

Arizona State (+15.5) at Oregon State
The Sun Devils’ fall from grace has been shocking and thorough, as they went from a 10-win team last year to a team that’s lost five in a row despite having an acclaimed fifth-year senior quarterback. Oregon State, meanwhile, seems to be doing its second-half surge that its become famous for under Mike Riley. Beavers with the cover.
Oregon State 34, Arizona State 16

Washington State (+30) at Stanford
Washington State is awful. That goes without saying. Stanford is mediocre. That goes without saying as well. Normally I wouldn’t touch the Cardinal with a 10-foot pole in this game, but Washington State is pathetic.
Stanford 48, Washington State 10

Texas (-3.5) at Texas Tech
For the fourth straight week, the Longhorns are playing in the game of the week. Such is the life of the Big 12. Tech is in game two of its own hellish four-game stretch, with the Oklahoma schools next on the docket. I think the Longhorns are good but its hard to get up for a big game four weeks in a row. I’m taking a mentally-fresher home team.
Texas Tech 41, Texas 35

Florida (-6.5) vs. Georgia
The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party is the world’s largest national championship elimination game, at least until next week. Georgia created a buzz last year, throttling the Gators in a game where the entire team came out on the field to celebrate a 1-yard touchdown. The Gators haven’t forgotten that and will take their revenge tomorrow.
Florida 30, Georgia 17

Florida State (+2) at Georgia Tech
I’ve been pretty wrong on Florida State the last few games of theirs I’ve picked. I picked them against Miami and picked them against Virginia Tech and have whiffed both times. So of course I’m picking Georgia Tech in this game. The Yellow Jackets are good defensively and have taken to the triple-option well. Plus, they are at home. Good enough for me.
Georgia Tech 21, Florida State 17

Wisconsin (+5.5) at Michigan State
Yeah, there wasn’t much to go with in the Big Ten this week, with Penn State and Ohio State on byes and Michigan being terrible, so this is what we get. The Spartans were feeling high and mighty after beating the Wolverines for the first time since 2001, even putting out a billboard about it. That kind of hubris isn’t treated very well in the world of karma, meaning the Badgers will pull the upset.
Wisconsin 23, Michigan State 21

West Virginia (-3.5) at Connecticut
This week must stink if I’m talking about a Big East game. Oh well, had to happen sometime. The Mountaineers put over 60 points on the Huskies last year, right before they lost to Pittsburgh and lost their coach. WVU isn’t quite what it was and UConn will come out pumped. Yep, I’m going with the upset.
Connecticut 26, West Virginia 23

Nebraska (+21.5) at Oklahoma
Back when the Big 12 was the Big 8, this was the premier rivalry in the Heartland. However, it barely makes much of a blip on the radar anymore. A lot of that has to do with Nebraska’s mediocrity and a lot has to do with the Big 12′s rotating schedule. Either way, don’t expect this to be much of a game.
Oklahoma 42, Nebraska 17

Share this

This is where the season really gets fun. Another fun fact is that I went 21-3 last week and if it wasn’t for the San Andreas League, I would have gone 20-1. On to an intriguing Week 8.

Redlands East Valley at Miller
I was at this game a year ago and it was probably the second-best game I’ve covered since I’ve been here (Norco’s OT battle with Corona Centennial in 2006 barely beats it out). I won’t be there this week, but if I could clone myself, I would. Last year’s game was offensively oriented, but this game has more of a defensive feel to it. Miller turned some heads last week against Redlands and the Rebels are at home, so I’m going with a minor upset.
Miller 19, Redlands East Valley 16

Serrano at Hesperia
I’ll be at this High Desert battle, which should be a good one. Unlike REV-Miller, this game was a defensive struggle a year ago but should have more fireworks this year. Serrano has been the big dog in the MRL for over a decade now, but the Scorpions have the complete team necessary to knock them off. Will they though? I think they will, though it won’t be easy.
Hesperia 24, Serrano 23

Rancho Cucamonga at Los Osos
The Grizzlies showed up huge last week, defeating Upland on regional TV. Can they possibly get up for a second straight week? They’d better, as Rancho will be frothing at the mouth to get a piece of Los Osos. The Cougars are undefeated but haven’t had that elite win to announce their presence with authority. This would certainly qualify. However, I think Osos wins this, though it will be a battle.
Los Osos 30, Rancho Cucamonga 21

Chino Hills at Glendora
This game has caused some good debate on the blog this week, which I always welcome. Either way, like Rancho, Chino Hills needs a game to announce its presence with authority. Glendora has seamlessly gone from a power-running attack to a wide-open passing attack, showing the explosion necessary to defend its Sierra League title. Yep, you guessed it. I’m picking the home team.
Glendora 35, Chino Hills 27

Chaffey at Colony
The annual Battle for the Mt. Baldy League is taking place in less than 90 minutes. There hasn’t been much talk about these teams, which started out a combined 0-5, but they seem to be rounding into form, with Chaffey grinding out five straight wins thanks to its rushing attack and Colony running off four straight, including a win over Serrano. Colony knows how to win titles (its got two CIF in its trophy case) and that will prevail.
Colony 28, Chaffey 18

Twentynine Palms at Yucca Valley
Who would have thought this game would get billing as a key game of the week? If you asked anyone outside of the city of Yucca Valley prior to the season, they would have dismissed the above question as crazy talk. But Yucca Valley has been on fire lately, winning four in a row – including an upset over Big Bear – and can grab an unlikely championship with a win tonight. 29 Palms is the defending champ and won’t be so willing to give it up to their bitter rivals.
Twentynine Palms 31, Yucca Valley 20

Silverado at Ridgecrest Burroughs
These programs have ruled the Desert Sky League since Will Smith coined the term “Willenium”, exchanging DSL titles. After an 0-6 nonleague start, Silverado seems on its way to a third consecutive league crown, with only the Burros and their high-powered passing attack standing in the way. Burroughs has improved, but the DSL is still Silverado’s league.
Silverado 28, Burroughs 16

San Gorgonio at Colton
Yeah, yeah, San Andreas League, you’ll get your love too. This is an intriguing game just because it will be interesting to see how Colton reacts to its first San Andreas League loss since rejoining the league. The Spartans are coming off a big win over Arroyo Valley and would love nothing more than to shock the Yellowjackets. However, injuries have taken their toll on San G. Look for Colton to lean on them in the first half and wear them down late.
Colton 27, San Gorgonio 15

Kaiser at Bloomington
There’s no Dick Bruich vs. Don Markham in this game anymore, but its importance hasn’t lessened. The Cats seem to be settling into their annual second-half groove, while the Bruins got a couple of nice bumps last week from beating Jurupa Valley and having fullback Jayson Allmond commit to UCLA. Bloomington will be pumped but Kaiser is rolling.
Kaiser 33, Bloomington 10

Ontario Christian at Arrowhead Christian
The Christian League gets some love this week, as a struggling Ontario Christian team takes to the road for its league opener against a much-improved ACA squad. The Knights have had issues implementing a spread attack and have lost four straight, but still should have enough oomph to take the Eagles.
Ontario Christian 20, Arrowhead Christian 14

Share this

Because of the transfer from Rialto to Redlands East Valley, word on senior defensive back Gary Walker was slow to spread. But after a successful first seven games in a Wildcat uniform, schools are flocking to REV to see the 6-foot-1, 185-pound Walker in action.

“Arizona State has been by recently, they like him a lot,” REV coach Kurt Bruich said. “Oregon State has also been showing a lot of interest. Of course, every mid-major school out there really likes him as well, as they should. He’s as good as we’ve had at that position since I’ve been here.”

Walker has 52 combined tackles (35 unassisted, 17 solo) through seven games and has intercepted four passes, including one that he took back for a touchdown in last Friday’s 27-20 victory over Carter. He also has played quite a bit at wide receiver, catching 21 passes for 383 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for 152 yards.

His recruitment started off slowly due to lack of film, as a few I-AA schools like Northern Arizona tried to swoop in and get a steal. But the interest has been steady since the REV staff sent out film to over 50 colleges about a month ago.

“He’s a Pac-10 caliber player in my mind,” Bruich said. “There were some smaller schools trying to get him to commit early because they saw a steal, but its going to be hard for them to do that now. People knew about him but after seeing him, they’ve really shown the interest.”

Other Wildcats garnering interest are defensive back Jerel Kyles and defensive lineman James Adams. Both Kyles and Adams are getting interest from I-AA schools, according to Bruich.

Share this

I think this has made most of the necessary rounds, but the Sunkist League battle between Summit and Norte Vista is Thursday at Norte Vista High School in Riverside, not Friday as has been published earlier.

Also, the Rialto-Redlands game at Redlands HS is Friday and not Thursday. Maxpreps had it on Thursday, but a quick call to Jim Walker cleared up that misinformation.

Share this

Because of a shortage of qualified, available referees on Friday nights, quite a few games have been moved around since the original schedules were released. We try to peg all the moves, but any help that you guys can give would be awesome. Just drop a comment or e-mail me personally at tj.berka@inlandnewspapers.com with whatever games have been moved to Thursday or Saturday. Help me help you, as they say.